- Playing
- The Last Letter
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- Western Folklife Center Media
Bill C. Malone grew up the son of a sharecropper in east Texas. He remembers vividly the family's first radio where he heard sad country songs like this one by Rex Griffin. Malone went on to become one of America's foremost country music historians and his love of this old honky-tonk music is still as strong as ever.
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Piece Description
Bill C. Malone grew up the son of a sharecropper in east Texas. He remembers vividly the family's first radio where he heard sad country songs like this one by Rex Griffin. Malone went on to become one of America's foremost country music historians and his love of this old honky-tonk music is still as strong as ever.
2 Comments
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Review of The Last LetterLovely, rich time capsule tribute to the intimate power of radio. In four minutes I?m transported from chilly oceanside modern day life to the plains of Texas, circa 1939. Potbelly stove, battery Philco, yearning hillbilly music evoke a way of life. Sharp details, wonderful voices, archival tape, a warm feeling inside. Why we love radio. |
Broadcast History
Originally broadcast October 23, 2005 on NPR's Weekend Edition.
Musical Works
Performances of "The Last Letter" are sung by Rex Griffin, the Carter Family and Bill C. Malone.
Additional Files
- What's in a Song (VoicesWestWoodcut1.jpg)
- Hal Cannon and Taki Telonidis of the Western Folklife Center (HalCannonTiki05.jpg)
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Trorine Richoux
Posted on April 02, 2006 at 06:28 PM | Permalink
Review of The Last Letter
It was GREAT!! Rex Griffin is my grand father
It was nice to hear someone talk about him.